Through efforts to lobby Diet members, new organization in Tokyo for “abolition of nuclear weapons” will urge Japanese government to ratify TPNW by 2030
Apr. 2, 2024
by Fumiyasu Miyano, Staff Writer
On April 1, a new incorporated organization called the ‘Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ was established in Tokyo to urge Japan’s national government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by 2030. Young members in the organization are expected to take the lead on working to influence members of Japan’s Diet in the ruling and opposition parties and on sharing information with the public. The organization will urge the A-bombed nation of Japan to reverse its current policy of distancing itself from the TPNW.
Hideo Asano, 27, who studied nuclear disarmament in graduate school at a university in the United States, will serve as a full-time staff member for the organization, the offices of which will be located in Tokyo’s special ward of Toshima. With more than 10 million yen in operating funds raised in a crowdfunding campaign held from July through September of last year, the organization plans to hold workshops to convey the TPNW’s significance to Diet members and create booklets to explain the treaty. It will also dispatch lecturers when requested to do so.
On the same day, three people — Mr. Asano; Masumi Matsumura, 47, a coordinator who works in support of the organization’s activities; and Akira Kawasaki, 55, co-chair of the NGO Peace Boat — paid a joint visit to the Toshima Branch of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau to apply for registration of the organization.
Looking ahead to 2030, the 85th anniversary of the atomic bombings, Mr. Asano emphasized that the organization hopes “to foster an environment in which the public is able to discuss nuclear disarmament.” Mr. Kawasaki said, “We will argue that the Japanese government needs to take the lead in nuclear-abolition efforts.” The organization will hold a symposium to commemorate its establishment at the Shirokane Campus of Meiji Gakuin University on April 20 starting at 1:30 p.m. The symposium will also be carried live on the internet.
(Originally published on April 2, 2024)
On April 1, a new incorporated organization called the ‘Japan Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ was established in Tokyo to urge Japan’s national government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by 2030. Young members in the organization are expected to take the lead on working to influence members of Japan’s Diet in the ruling and opposition parties and on sharing information with the public. The organization will urge the A-bombed nation of Japan to reverse its current policy of distancing itself from the TPNW.
Hideo Asano, 27, who studied nuclear disarmament in graduate school at a university in the United States, will serve as a full-time staff member for the organization, the offices of which will be located in Tokyo’s special ward of Toshima. With more than 10 million yen in operating funds raised in a crowdfunding campaign held from July through September of last year, the organization plans to hold workshops to convey the TPNW’s significance to Diet members and create booklets to explain the treaty. It will also dispatch lecturers when requested to do so.
On the same day, three people — Mr. Asano; Masumi Matsumura, 47, a coordinator who works in support of the organization’s activities; and Akira Kawasaki, 55, co-chair of the NGO Peace Boat — paid a joint visit to the Toshima Branch of the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau to apply for registration of the organization.
Looking ahead to 2030, the 85th anniversary of the atomic bombings, Mr. Asano emphasized that the organization hopes “to foster an environment in which the public is able to discuss nuclear disarmament.” Mr. Kawasaki said, “We will argue that the Japanese government needs to take the lead in nuclear-abolition efforts.” The organization will hold a symposium to commemorate its establishment at the Shirokane Campus of Meiji Gakuin University on April 20 starting at 1:30 p.m. The symposium will also be carried live on the internet.
(Originally published on April 2, 2024)
